Ruger Redhawk- First Production Year

by anachronism, Sunday, June 30, 2019, 15:15 (1974 days ago)

I recently purchased an unfired stainless 7-1/2 in 44 mag Redhawk from an estate. I took it out and shot a box of ammo through it, then noticed that it had a really low serial number 50-024*. First year of production, almost guaranteed to be from the first production run. Now I don't want to shoot it anymore, and my original plans to shorten the barrel to 4 inches are all shot to hell. But I have to ask, does the first production year carry any importance with a Redhawk anyway? It's still like new, but I don't know if collectors even know that there is such a thing as a Redhawk. What are your thought? The revolver is almost useless to me as a collectors item, I'm not interested in that sort of thing.